The employees of the Postal Corporation of Kenya have a reason to smile after the Senate Committee on Information, Communication and Technology directed the Cabinet Secretary for ICT and Digital Economy to pay their salary arrears before Christmas.
This comes after Nandi Senator Samson Cherarkey raised concerns on the financial status and operations of the Postal Corporation of Kenya through a request for a statement on the floor of the House, in which he requested to know why Posta had not paid salaries to its staff from July to date.
And in a meeting with the Senate ICT Committee, CS Eliud Owalo informed Senators that the Postal Corporation of Kenya has been experiencing financial constraints but agreed with the Committee’s observations that the disbursement of salaries to Posta workers is long overdue.
He added that the corporation is considering the revamping of its operations to ensure that it stays afloat, and promised to direct the Posta management to pay its staff before Christmas once the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) pays the debt it owes to the corporation.
“The reason for delays in meeting the salary obligations was occasioned by low business volume due to a decline in postal mail business. IEBC owes Posta Sh1.1 billion. I have been reliably informed that the National Treasury is making some release of Sh550 million to IEBC to settle part of the debt,” CS Owalo said.
“I have given directions to Posta that that money is sufficient to offset the five months’ salary arrears. If Treasury releases these funds, Postal Corporation of Kenya will pay its staff by Christmas,” added the ICT and Digital Economy CS.
The members of the Committee advised the Postal Corporation of Kenya to take advantage of its extensive network coverage across the country to provide other services apart from its traditional mail business model.
They directed the ministry of ICT and Digital Economy to provide them with an update on the salary payment to Postal Corporation of Kenya workers in the next one month to ensure they’re paid their dues.
“Posta should change their business operations so that it can remain relevant in this tech-oriented world. For instance, it should partner with the Immigration Department to embark on delivery of passports or engage in clearing and forwarding business,” said Senator Shakila Abdalla.
“I direct that the ministry provides a full schedule of the Sh7.1 billion owed to the Postal Corporation of Kenya as debt in the next 14 days. You should also provide the strategies you have put in place for the staff offloading program,” Senator Cherarkey, who served as the sessional chair, directed
The Senate ICT Committee also considered the inquiry on Telecommunication Infrastructure and the dispute between American Tower Corporation (ATC) Kenya and Telkom Kenya.
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